Fate's Game
by Sheankelor
Summary: Severus' cover was blown and had to relocate and change his name. Harry was helping to clean up and spotted some numbers, 007and 003. A Snarry Sequel to "Double 0".


_Yen mentioned it, and it was honestly partially brewing, so here is the snarry sequel of Double 0. Enjoy! Oh, and Yen has now cleaned it up and made it better.  
_

_Fate's Game_

Severus looked about taking in the room. Harry should be here soon to help him clean up and pack. He was still amazed that Harry Potter and he had formed a relationship. Then again, he was amazed that he survived the war. There were so many that should have that didn't, and he sometimes felt that for him it was the other way around. No matter how much he could claim all his deeds were done as a spy, in the protection of the light, he didn't feel as if it excused him.

Running a hand over his face, he pushed those thoughts to the dark recesses of his mind, trapping them there. He knew they would escape the moment he drifted through dreams and into nightmares. Turning his attention once again to the quarters that had been his home for his entire adult life, he pondered his desire to let Harry help clean up. Yes, he had to move. It was his lot in life not to get too comfortable. The Wizarding World had accepted that he was a spy, that he had truly not been on Voldemort's side for most of the war, but it didn't mean that they liked him. That dislike had been making itself known a bit stronger than the Ministries liked.

Minerva had offered to help him move, her eyes wide with concern. Filius and the other professors also offered. He had accepted and together they had helped to clean out his old haunts – the table in the staffroom that doubled as a desk for him, his old classroom, and even his old lab. His real office – he hadn't truly moved all his effects into the Headmaster's office - was handled by himself. The quarters behind the Headmaster's office and the small things that had found their way into the Headmaster's office were taken care of by Minerva as she moved in.

Today, he was cleaning out the last space in Hogwarts that showed that he had ever been there, his quarters. With Harry's help it shouldn't take long. Smiling slightly, he shook his head and enlarged the boxes that they were about to fill.

Harry had tracked him down in the Shack after the Final Battle, apologizing left and right about leaving him for dead when he had discovered Severus propped against a wall, potions bottles littering the floor about him. Severus remembered dismissing those apologies. _'Told him that it was war, and that we were in battle. There wasn't a medic nearby, he had a duty to perform, so I was the one that had to be left behind. That is the way of war. I was lucky enough to be as close to a medic as can be, so I lived.'_ Harry had eventually accepted that. It was then that the years of pretend hate and animosity on Severus' side disappeared. Harry warmed at the acceptance, and a friendship was struck.

No one was more surprised than Severus at the way that this friendship was moving._ 'I'm not fighting it though. If we become more than friends, then so be it. That is, if he is willing to follow me. He might not want to leave everyone, change his name and disappear.'_

Glancing at the clock, he rolled his eyes when Harry came rushing in to the room five minutes late.

"Severus, I'm sorry! I had to ask McGonagall where your room was, and then we started talking. I tried to get out of there, but Dumbledore joined in." Harry searched the Potions Master's face, looking for any aggravation, and was relieved when it wasn't there. Things had been going too well between them for him to mess this up now.

Ron and Hermione had bemoaned his plans, but accepted them. As Ron said, Harry being happy was worth it. They eventually decided that in a couple of years it might be safe enough for the three of them to find each other again. To minimise the possibility of information being discovered through future communications, they all agreed to meet in front of number 4 Privet Drive at ten in the morning three years from now. They would decide from there how to proceed. Knowing that he was about to leave all that he had come to love for a chance at happiness, Harry was doing his best not to mess up that chance.

Severus just pointed to the far bookshelf. "You can start loading that shelf into the nearest box. Don't use magic on them since some of those scrolls are too delicate to withstand it."

"So, that is my punishment!" Harry made sure that his tone was teasing as he continued. "Manual labor, no magic. Since there aren't any cauldrons to clean, I get to pack scrolls."

"Harry, I am trusting you with them, do be careful," said Severus.

Sobering up, Harry nodded. "I will be, don't worry about a thing. I know how to be careful when I need to be."

As he crossed the room, Harry wondered just how long they were going to be packing.

It was about an hour later when Harry's attention was caught by the writing on one of the stacks of parchments that he was loading up. He had long finished the hand pack only ones, but hadn't bothered to pull out his wand for the others, so his fingers trailed over what looked like Dumbledore's handwriting and what he knew was Severus'.

"Who are 007 and 003?" The painful look that flashed over Severus' face almost made him regret the question.

Severus felt like he had been punched in the gut. The 00s. He hadn't heard them in over a year. Albus had picked those numbers one summer long ago. The Headmaster had come by Spinner's End and ended up hearing a song on the radio - Johnny Rivers' 'Secret Agent Man'. That song had led to Albus deciding that Severus needed a number and the older man had assigned him 007. It had taken three weeks and introducing Albus to James Bond for Severus to convince the man that he could not be called that. During those three weeks, though, Albus had taken to calling him it whenever he felt like it and had scribbled the number series in his comments on Severus' lesson plans instead of his name.

After Severus had convinced Albus that 007 was far more of a Gryffindor than he could abide being referenced as, the older man had assigned him the number 003, and told him that the 00 was his license to kill when needed to protect his mission. Severus just wished that that license hadn't extended to ending Albus' life.

Facing Harry, he swallowed hard before answering. "I am both. Albus was a James Bond fan and assigned me a number. I refused 007 and eventually convinced him that I was right in that refusal. That was when I became 003. He claimed that there was magic in the numbers and that they would protect me."

Harry searched Severus' stance, looking for the hurt he could faintly hear in that rich voice. It wasn't there. "Maybe they did. Albus was known to be right on many things. That 003 might be the reason you survived."

Severus just nodded. Those numbers had protected him, but in a way that Harry would never know. He really was 003 in the Muggle SIS – Secret Intelligence Service. Albus had gone to the Muggle Minister himself and explained the situation to the man. Severus had originally thought all the paperwork that Albus had him fill out at the end of that summer was a joke, that Albus was becoming a die hard Bond fanatic, but in reality he had truly become a registered secret agent. That paperwork was what had saved him from the trial as a Death Eater and murderer of Albus Dumbledore, and it was also the reason that he was having to relocate. His cover had been blown. At least his lasted far longer than James Bond's normally did.

Severus flicked his wand, sending more memories into a box and another sealed it shut.

Spinner's End was sold, his life as Severus Snape ended. Tomorrow he would be living near Otterden, Kent next to the magical area and his name would be Thomas Bendon. Thomas was also a registered Potions Master. It was amazing to him how efficient the two Ministries had handled his disappearance. Then again, Kingsley had played apart in getting things rolling after he had confirmed that Severus wanted this.

"So, what are your plans, Harry?" Severus waited with bated breath. Harry had talked about accompanying him into obscurity.

Harry settled back on his heels and smiled up Severus. "I'm coming with you. I don't want the fame and the noise of Harry Potter any more. It was irritating before I defeated Voldemort, it is worse now. Does the Minister know that I want to go?"

Giving a negative shake of his head, Severus sealed his last box. "No. I don't think he would agree with Harry Potter disappearing. At least not as the Minister. Kingsley might on his own, but he wouldn't be allowed to share that opinion." Severus handed Harry a slip of parchment. "I'm sure you can find me."

Glancing at what was written on the slip, Harry smiled. "I think I might."

-o-o-o-o-o-

Harry walked down the street, his eyes scanning the house numbers as he passed them. Severus' house was someplace on this road. Finally stopping outside a bright white fence, he stared at the small patch of lawn and the large front stoop. The place didn't remind him of Severus at all. _'That is what the intent was. It isn't supposed to make people think of Severus Snape.'_

Gathering up his courage, he headed up the narrow path and up to the door. He hoped that he had the right address. A swift knock later he was confronted with a sight that did wonders for his libido, but nothing for his ability to think. Severus stood there, shirt half unbuttoned, sleeves rolled up, and in well fitted trousers. His feet were bare on the wood floors.

"Um-m-m... I'm here." Rolling his own eyes at how stupid he sounded, Harry hoped Severus wouldn't shut the door.

"Yes, you are. Come on in." Severus stepped out of the door way, letting Harry pass him. Once they were in the safety of the kitchen, he continued. "What are you calling yourself? I am Thomas Bendon."

Harry ran a hand though his hair as he answered. "Derrick Smith."

"So, Derrick where are you staying?" Severus' question floated across the room while he opened a cupboard looking for a tin of biscuits.

"I found a flat just ten minutes away. It is in a Muggle Area, but I think I'll be fine there. Is this place a Muggle house or a Magical one?" Harry took in the fridge and the light fixtures.

"It is in a Muggle district, but I am making it a combination house. The areas that have magic in them are sealed off from the Muggle area so as not to counter the technology." Offering Harry the tin of biscuits, Severus smiled. They were continuing just where they left off.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Three years later, Harry stood outside number 4 Privet Drive, waiting patiently on Ron and Hermione. Severus had laughed about the plans the three had made and then had marked their calender.

It had taken about six months for their relationship to move out of the friendship level to the official dating one. During that time, they had discovered that both Ministries were not letting Severus retire. When the Muggle Government suspected that magic might be involved, they sent in their only registered Wizard Agent. More times than not, Severus had made it home in less than a week with either their Wizard Ministry alerting the Wizarding section of the particular country to their Wizards' illegal activities or their Muggle Ministry sending in their other agents taking over.

Over the next six months, their relationship had become everything that Harry could hope for. He had found the love that he felt returned to him. It was amazing just how easy they had fallen together when they weren't forced to appear to be on opposite sides of a war.

After a year of going into hiding, Harry had not renewed his lease on his flat and moved in with Severus. When Severus was not out on a mission, he was brewing and inventing potions. When he was on a mission, Harry followed him. Not that he planned to, but that was how it worked out.

The first time had been when Harry had traveled to Austria on a curse breaking job that had agreed to pay extra for him. He had been there two days when Severus had walked through the door. Brighton had looked up from the objects he had been scattering across the table for Harry to work on and nodded a greeting to the man. It had taken every bit of guile, cunning, and the knowledge that Severus would kill him if he messed up, not to show that he knew the newest member of their team.

'_That had been an unusual case. Severus had been assigned to one that was completely in the Wizarding world. After that case, Fate seemed to put us in the same place and time over and over again. Both of us have checked to see if anyone had a clue who Derrick Smith was, but so far they don't seem to. Fate just wants us to guard each other's back.'_

That was what made this day unusual. Severus was heading out to Italy that morning, and he was here in Surrey. There was no case for him to work. No reason for him to head to Italy. He was slightly worried about what Fate was playing at.

The sight of Hermione and Ron walking down the side walk snapped him out of his musing. "Ron! Hermione!"

"Harry!" They called back as the three rushed to each other. "How have you been? Is everything going as planned?"

Harry shepherded them over to the park, smiling as wide as he could. "I've been good. Really good. Things went just the way we hoped. How are things with you two?" He glanced at their left hands and didn't spot the rings he had been sure would be there by now.

Hermione noticed the look. "No, we aren't married yet. We wanted you to be there when we did." She chewed her lower lip for a moment before continuing. "Can you travel to Naples, Italy? Mum and Dad are there for vacation, and the Weasleys are there as well."

"We know you might have to check with Severus, and he is invited as well..." Ron trailed off at the foolish grin that was covering Harry's face. "What, mate?"

Harry shook his head and fought to get control of his smile. "I am free to go. Severus is on travel for his job right now. He won't mind."

No, Severus wouldn't mind at all. Fate was once again bringing them together. Harry wondered if there was a way for Severus to make the wedding without causing a stir.


End file.
